Oran Knight is out (1/2 chapters for today)
Saxon (1): On a Morning of Waking Up Early
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**Today’s Diary**
When I visited Maria’s family home, I learned about the concept of disputes among nobles for the first time. There are the five great nobles who are not particularly active in war, and the military nobles who have risen to power through warfare. And then, there are the small and medium-sized nobles who waver between the five great nobles and the military nobles.
By a twist of fate, or rather mainly due to Saxon’s family’s interference, a miniature version of the noble disputes had formed in my class. The Bell Household from Maria’s side, one of the five great nobles. The Parady Household from Saxon’s side, one of the five particularly powerful military nobles. And then, there’s Roy-kun’s family, who doesn’t hesitate to say, “Our house is small.”
Roy-kun’s family are nobles in the imperial court who don’t own any territory, so there are excessive expectations placed on the talented Roy-kun, as he himself said. At the same time, he adds “it’s silly” and didn’t seem to care about it, which was very like Roy-kun.
Leaving Roy-kun aside, today is about Saxon. Although he has a deep-seated grudge with Maria’s family and often clashes with us, I acknowledged Saxon’s attitude of not sparing any effort to become an excellent Knight (Ritter), arriving early every morning to study on his own and not slacking off in class.
I had a rare chance to talk about various things with Saxon.
—
Today, I woke up surprisingly well and got up at sunrise. It was a pleasant morning. Back when I was in the southern village, I would go out hunting from the morning. On days like this, I would usually catch some big game.
I greeted the dorm mother, who worked for us early in the morning, and had her prepare breakfast. Today, it was a cheese omelet and bread. Back in the countryside, I never even saw a dish like an omelet, so when I first had it after coming to this dorm, it was a shock. The cheese was delicious, but the ones with bacon and herbs in them were also very tasty. It was currently my undisputed number one menu item.
Feeling exhilarated after eating my favorite food from the morning, I returned to my room. I thought it might not be a bad idea to spend some time in the classroom early in the morning, so I started getting ready. I thought about calling out to Heinz, Ratt-kun, and Frank as well, but considering the time, everyone might still be asleep.
So, when I left the dorm alone, there was mist. It must have been because it drizzled last night.
Also, slowly but surely, the signs of autumn were approaching. I stopped after stepping out of the dorm and took a big, deep breath. After inhaling the mist and exhaling deeply, I headed towards the school building.
When I entered the classroom, I was the first one there. This was the first time I had been the first to arrive. Somehow, it felt good. But just as I put my belongings down, someone opened the door and came in. It was Saxon. Saxon didn’t seem to expect that there would be a student who arrived before him, so he let out a small “whoa” before placing his belongings a bit roughly at his seat near the entrance.
“Good morning, Saxon. You’re early.” (Lux)
I called out to him, and he responded with a curt “Yeah.”
Usually, that would be the end of it, but today I was in a good mood. I decided to proactively talk to Saxon.
“Saxon, do you always come at this time to study by yourself? That’s impressive.” (Lux)
“Mm, yeah.” (Saxon)
“Are you aiming to become an excellent Knight (Ritter) as the son of the Parady Household?” (Lux)
When I said that, Saxon turned towards me, looking slightly annoyed.
“What’s up with you today? You’re talking to me a lot.” (Saxon)
“Is that so? Well, isn’t it nice to talk once in a while? Maybe in the future, we might end up in the same unit.” (Lux)
When I said that, Saxon thought for a moment and then gave a small nod.
“Well, it’s not impossible… But I’d be the one giving the orders, and you’d just be my pawn.” (Saxon)
He said.
“Apparently, the number one cause of death for knights (Ritter) is betrayal by their comrades.” (Lux)
I replied, and his expression turned sour.
This wasn’t a bluff. It was a fact. In our lectures, they often mentioned that the reason Knights (Ritter) who were in the safest positions and had the highest survival rates got killed was often because they were abandoned by their allies. Saxon clicked his tongue softly and finally turned his body fully towards me.
“So, what do you want to ask?” (Saxon)
“It’s not that I have anything specific to ask. I just thought you were working really hard and wanted to say so.” (Lux)
When I said that, Saxon let out a deep sigh.
“Seriously… The reason I come early is partly because of you guys.” (Saxon)
“Because of us?” (Lux)
“You mentioned the name of our house, Parady, earlier. I bet you heard something from Maria about us, like how we’re upstart military nobles or something.” (Saxon)
“Maria’s father didn’t go that far. But I did hear that the Parady Household supposedly pulled some strings with the attendance numbers concerning Maria’s enrollment.” (Lux)
“That’s true. Not just the Parady Household, but all military nobles can’t maintain their current positions without winning.” (Saxon)
Saxon said, and I thought, “Oh?”. He had a rather self-mocking expression.
“I’m a failure even within that house. I feel even more pressured to produce results. That was the case in the last competition as well. The team with the girl from our political rivals, the Bell Household, beat a team of second-year students, while we lost. If I can’t win, there’s no place for me in my house.” (Saxon)
“That depends on the opponent, doesn’t it?” (Lux)
“Maybe, but my family doesn’t see it that way. And I’m also losing to Roy in academics. I’d rather be in the classroom studying than stay at home.” (Saxon)
“Is the Parady Household a noble house from Rodon?” (Lux)
“No. The place we’re living in now is a rented house. But there are a lot of nosy people. That’s because of my father’s will.” (Saxon)
“…I see, it must be tough.” (Lux)
“Hah, I plan to either achieve results and rise above them or leave the house. That’s why I don’t have the luxury of taking it easy like you guys.” (Saxon)
“… I’ll be rooting for you in the next competition so that you and your team can win.” (Lux)
“Hah, we’ll win even without your support.” (Saxon)
While we were talking, another early-rising classmate entered the classroom, bringing our conversation to a close.
—
During class that day, towards the end, our homeroom teacher, Fol-sensei, suddenly said, “Oh, right,” as if he remembered something.
“Saxon, your brother is coming tomorrow as the practical skills instructor.” (Fol)
Although I couldn’t see Saxon’s face from behind, I could tell from his tone that he seemed really unhappy as he asked.
“Is it Frue or Bind?” (Saxon)
“Brigadier General Bind.” (Fol)
Fol-sensei replied.
“Great, just my luck.” (Saxon)
Saxon muttered and directed his words to the puzzled Fol-sensei.
“Bind enjoys inflicting pain on others. Please make sure there’s an instructor who can properly stop him.” (Saxon)
“Hey, he’s your family, right?” (Fol)
Fol-sensei said, to which Saxon immediately retorted.
“It’s precisely because he’s family.” (Saxon)
“…Understood.” (Fol)
Fol-sensei said, and with that, the lecture ended for the day.
I recalled the conversation from this morning and couldn’t take my eyes off Saxon’s back throughout the rest of the class.
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